When midnight arrived, the dining room chilled and the lights went off in the surrounding houses. Liv headed for her old bedroom and saw her mum’s bedside lamp was still on. Through the gap in the door, she saw her sitting up in bed, reading. With her face in the shadows, she looked young, just like she used to. Liv opened it a little further. ‘I thought you’d gone to sleep,’ she said.
Carol lowered her book. ‘I couldn’t drop off. Reading helps.’
‘What’s the book?’
Carol held upThe River After Midnight. ‘I want to know how it ends.’
‘There’s a really bad guy in that one.’
‘I can’t remember.’ Carol shrugged. ‘And the thing is with baddies, you can’t help admiring them a bit sometimes,’ she said. ‘They do things you never would.’
Liv suddenly had a flashback to being a girl and reading in bed with her mum while her dad was shaving in the bathroom. ‘Can I get in next to you?’ she said.
Carol nodded. She flipped back her covers and shuffled across the mattress to make room.
Liv climbed in and rearranged the bedsheets over their legs.
Carol picked up the book again. ‘Want to join me?’
Liv hesitated for a moment before nodding.
They read together until an owl hooted outside and they reached the last few pages. As Georgia prepared to ride off into the sunset, Carol’s breathing grew shallow and her head fell against Liv’s shoulder.
Liv eased the book from her fingers. ‘Let’s finish it tomorrow.’
‘I want to know how it ends,’ Carol said sleepily.
‘Essie’s books always have happy endings.’ Liv slid out of the bed and helped her mum to lie down. She pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Night, Mum.’
‘Goodnight, love.’
Liv slipped quietly away and into her old bedroom. She gazed at a photo of her dad on the wall for a long time before her eyes began to shut. She could understand why Essie had fallen for him so deeply and, in time, she thought she might be able to forgive her. But she knew she would never forget.
‘Night, Dad,’ she said and turned off the light.
BESTSELLER ESSIE STARLING HAS
DIED,SHEENMAGAZINE
Essie Starling, the bestselling novelist, who entertained millions of readers with her adventurous stories and daring characters, died on 1 November 2019. The cause of her death remains unreported at present.
Born as Elsbeth Smart in London, Starling attended Manningham University where she studied English. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles where she cut a glamorous presence on the party scene. She spent the last ten years of her life back in the UK, where she enjoyed a quiet, private life.
Essie flew onto the bestseller lists with her debut novel,The Moon on the Water, which introduced readers to Georgia Rory, a new kind of heroine who blazed a trail for other female writers. Essie subsequently wrote a further eighteen novels that have been published in more than forty languages worldwide.
Kind and considerate to many, while always demanding high standards, Essie has bequeathed the majority of her estate to the Museum of Writing in Manningham, where a contemporary writers’ room will be set up in her name. An annual award will be made available to underrepresented writers.
Essie was married twice, to English publisher Ted Mason, then to American crime writer Hank Milligan. She didn’t have any children and always saw her readers as her family. She will be sorely missed by her friends, fans and everyone in the publishing industry.
Starling’s literary agent Marlon Austin said: ‘Essie was an extraordinarily talented writer with an irrepressible personality and a big heart. She was whip-smart and didn’t suffer fools gladly. Her curiosity about human nature shone through in the stories she gifted to the world. We’re very lucky she finished one last book that I know she would love sharing with her readers everywhere. It’s a fitting farewell for all the fans who supported her and who love Georgia Rory.’
Read what Essie and Georgia meant to readers, in an exclusive online article by Chloe Anderton.
Chapter 36
Book People
A few hours before Essie’s obituary was made public, Liv pressed send on Book Twenty to Marlon. Anthony also contacted the agent to tell him Essie had died. Unusually solemn, Marlon said he’d pass on the awful news.
